DEC cites KJ water runoff practices

Kiryas Joel — State environmental regulators have cited Kiryas Joel for numerous storm water management violations related to construction in the village.

John Sullivan

Kiryas Joel — State environmental regulators have cited Kiryas Joel for numerous storm water management violations related to construction in the village.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation lists four construction sites — Acres Road Development, Teverya Estates, Bakertown Road Office Building and an affordable housing project — that have either failed to get required discharge permits or exceeded permitted discharge levels.

"The DEC is taking this very seriously, and we hope to partner with KJ to both assess penalties and, more importantly, to find ways to help them come into compliance," DEC Region 3 Director William Janeway said.

State storm water guidelines require the use of techniques such as silt fencing to avoid erosion and pollution of ground water and sensitive watersheds and water bodies. Penalties for violations can run as high as $37,500 per day.

Kiryas Joel Attorney Donald Nichol said the village plans to address all violations. A Sept. 19 meeting to discuss the issues was delayed until later this year.

Nichol said the attention focused on Kiryas Joel's storm water management is unwarranted. Runoff from the hillside village flows mainly into a wetlands area that absorbs most of it at the juncture of Routes 105 and 17, he said.

Storm water runoff has generated controversy between the Satmar village and its neighbors, who regularly criticize the village for disregarding the law. The village's ultraorthodox religious values emphasize marrying early and having large families, pushing the population of the state's fastest-growing municipality past 20,000 last year.

The explosive growth has created tremendous demand for more housing units. Much of the new construction has gone up on steep grades, creating prime conditions for silt or soil erosion, as well as a flow of pollutants across village borders.

Yet the village has, to date, not once complied with state laws requiring municipalities to report to the county on construction that might affect its neighbors, according to the county Planning Department. It has also failed to come up with laws that enforce a comprehensive storm water management plan, according to the DEC.

The village has until Jan. 8 to come up with such a law, Janeway said.

Nichol claims the law is in place.

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